Oct 28 How To Get REAL Smile's From Kids During a Photo Session

Kids are completely unpredictable. They can be so adorable and easy going and laughing uncontrollably one minute, and the next minute, turn that charm off completely. They will typically smile for you all day long until you put them in front of a camera, then they freeze up like a deer in headlights. We want to avoid the gritted teeth and bug-eyed forced smiles during our session. So here are a few things you can do to get that real, un-posed adorable smile!

1. Make a list of things that your clients child thinks are are funny and have them send it to you prior to the session. This way, you can be prepared and add these things into your bag of tricks.

2. Get a list of icebreakers from your client – the kinds of shows they watch, music they listen to, friends’ names, favorite story, etc. This will give you something to talk to them about, and will help them to forget that they are in front of the camera.

3. Have your client practice phrases at home to see which ones will evoke the best smiles from their child. (Please, oh please, avoid “Say cheese!” unless that really works for them)

4. Try out a couple of jokes with them. During the session, we can ask them to tell us a joke and this will typically loosen them up as they tell it to us.

5. If there is a song that their child loves, load it up to your phone and bring it along with you, or be prepared to sing it for them during the session.

6. Bring along a bribe (such as a toy, a trip to the zoo, etc.) try and show it to them, or remind them of it, during the session.

Making the kids feel comfortable infront of the lens is sometimes not a very easy task. And their parents are the ones that know them best and know what gets them giggling!!

I have created a form with a list of things that you can send to your client for them to fill out prior to your session, so that you can be prepared the day of their session, and win them over! You will get points with parents too because you made it personal for them! Just click the image below to download the free form! It is compatible with Microsoft word, and Open Office. You can also upload it to Google Docs!

Want to be notified as soon as there is a new blog post? Subscribe to my blog below! They will come strait to your inbox!!